Home sales on the rise countywide says La Jolla-based DataQuick

Home sales in San Diego County rose by 16.3 percent in February, compared to the same month a year ago, while prices dipped by 1 percent, a real estate information service announced today.

A total of 2,709 homes changed hands locally last month, compared to 2,330 in February 2011, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick. The median price of a home in San Diego County in February was $305,000, down from $308,000 in February 2011.

A total of 15,573 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in February, according to DataQuick. That was up 7.2 percent from 14,523 in January, and up 8.4 percent from 14,369 in February 2011.

"February got a big boost from investors and others paying cash for relatively affordable homes, as well as from an extra day's worth of sales thanks to the leap year," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. "Without the latter, sales might have been up a bit, but not to a five-year high. It's just one more reason for us to remind everyone that January and February usually aren't good months to use for forecasting purposes."

The median price for a Southern California home was $264,750 last month, up 1.8 percent from $260,000 in January but down 3.7 percent from $275,000 in February 2011, according to DataQuick.